


Secret Dating

by nicostolemybones (fatherlords)



Series: AUctober 2019 [11]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Communication, M/M, Secret dating, Sword Fighting, solangelo, warning for fake illness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-18 17:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21580966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fatherlords/pseuds/nicostolemybones
Summary: Nico and Will are hiding their relationship because Nico isn't ready to come outI do not give permission for my work to appear on any apps nor do I consent to my work being reposted anywhere. If you see my work outside of my tumblr or outside of any blogs/accounts I mention in my fics, please report/contact them or inform me. If you report them, do not report as if it were your own work.My tumblr is @nicohasahappymeal
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: AUctober 2019 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1550413
Kudos: 86





	Secret Dating

Nico and Will had a quiet romance. One that was full of hidden moments and coded body language, their own rhythm that nobody else could see, their own melody that nobody else could hear. There was a thrill- being surrounded by all these people, and nobody knew. It was a comfort too, a safety in the knowledge that you could live peacefully without judgment. He’d planned to spend the day with Will.

However, Nico had completely forgotten he’d agreed to help teach sword fighting with Jason and Percy until he was dragged along to the arena. He kept a close eye on the time- he was supposed to be meeting Will very soon- Will would be waiting for him in the infirmary, where they’d finally be able to spend time with each other. So he needed a believable excuse to go to the infirmary. He’d considered pretending to twist his ankle, but he knew Jason and Percy would see right through that, and he doubted he could convincingly pretend to pass out, and he wasn’t about to purposely get injured. So whilst the class was focused on watching Jason and Percy demonstrate disarming techniques, he raided his backpack for one of his cereal bars, chewing it up and filling his mouth with water. He held the mixture in his mouth until Jason turned to him asking him to help demonstrate, then with a convincing retch, he spilled the contents of his mouth onto the floor. It wasn’t the first time he’d faked being sick- he used it a lot back when he was in school. 

“Oh shit, Nico, are you feeling okay,” Jason asked, jogging over to him and rubbing his back. 

“Perfectly fine,” Nico replied sarcastically, holding his stomach.

“Are you gonna puke again?”

“Probably,” Nico lied with a groan, “I might pass out.”

“I’m gonna take you to the infirmary, no arguments,” Jason said sternly, hooking his arm around Nico’s waist and walking him to the infirmary. Nico held back a smug grin, glad that his lie had worked. 

As soon as they reached the infirmary, everybody turned to look. Nico instantly felt uneasy- the majority of campers there looked at him either with disgust or fear. The Apollo cabin looked at him with unease- all apart from Will, who had been tending to a head wound. He immediately downed tools and took off his gloves, quickly using hand sanitiser before putting on fresh gloves- as per standard hygiene practices. He rushed over, guiding them towards one of the back rooms. “What happened,” he asked worriedly, “training injury?”

“No, he was fine one minute then he threw up,” Jason explained, “he said he might pass out.”

“Okay, well you should get back to whatever you were doing,” Will ordered, and Jason stared at him for a second. “He’ll be fine.”

“Uh- sure, I’ll be back after training,” Jason said, giving one last worried look to Nico before leaving. 

“I don’t believe for one minute you’d admit you was ill, di Angelo,” Will said with a slight smirk, “you’re just bunking off training to spend time with me.”

“Don’t be so full of yourself, Solace,” Nico retorted. 

“I was thinking,” Will began, unravelling the bandage he had tied around his wrist and re-wrapping it, “it’s getting kinda difficult to find time for each other whilst this is still a secret, so maybe we could… you know, not hide it now that-”

“Will, we’ve talked about this, I don’t want anybody to know,” Nico interrupted, perching on the edge of the hospital bed. 

“Mhm,” Will nodded, and this time the hurt was less easy to disguise. 

“Will...” Nico began gently, reaching for his hand and guiding him to sit besides him. “It’s not because I’m ashamed of you, I promise. I just…” Nico closed his eyes for a second, thinking about how to explain. “I don’t know if I can face the way people might react,” he explained, “people already treat me differently because of my father, because I wasn’t born in this era, because I’m different. You don’t seem to notice it, but they all look at me like I’m covered in sewerage. People avoid me like I’m carrying the plague, give me hateful stares, talk about me behind my back whilst pretending to be civil to my face. And I’m still trying to come to terms with… my sexuality. I spent years hating the way I felt, only two people know about this other than you, and I’m not ready to come out yet. I’m sorry, Will,” Nico said softly, squeezing Will’s hand.

“No, I’m sorry,” Will said eventually, turning to face Nico, “I’ve been pressuring you to come out when I’m not even out yet. That’s unfair of me, and that’s not really the problem.”

“Then tell me,” Nico insisted, linking their fingers together, “tell me what the problem is.”

“I want us to spend more time together, Neeks,” Will admitted, “we barely get to spend time together. And before you say we spend a lot of time together, I mean like this. When it’s just us, and I can hold your hand and tell you I think you’re handsome and we can kiss and cuddle like boyfriends do.”

“I’m glad you said that,” Nico admitted, blushing just as much as Will was, “I like it when it’s just us.”

“Then why don’t we spend more time together? Apart from you visiting me here for my lunch break, we don’t spend time alone.”

“I… didn’t know how to ask,” Nico admitted, looking to their joined hands, “I’ve never had a boyfriend before and I didn’t want to seem too intense.”

“I’ve never had a boyfriend before either,” Will admitted, pulling Nico’s hand to his lap and playing with his fingers, “so… how do we spend more time together?”

“We could skip campfire tonight,” Nico suggested, “maybe watch the stars from the roof of my cabin, nobody can see us there.”

“I’d like that,” Will blushed, “it sounds romantic.”

“That’s kinda the point, Solace,” Nico blushed, “it could be like a real date.”

“I have archery practice in a few minutes,” Will said quietly, “I’ll write you a doctor’s note to get you out of campfire tonight, we’ll meet behind your cabin, okay?”

“Sure,” Nico agreed, “I should get back to training anyway.”

“Is it okay if um… if I kiss you goodbye,” Will asked nervously, and Nico turned bright red, blushing. He leaned forwards, gently kissing Will on the lips before standing up and walking to the door.

“See you later, Solace,” he said, glancing back at Will before making his way back to the arena with a smile on his face. As soon as he walked in, the young demigods froze and stared. Jason immediately lowered his sword and jogged across the arena to him. 

“Are you okay,” he asked, “you look like you have a fever., are you coming down with something?”

“I’m fine,” Nico protested, “it was just something I ate, Will gave me medicine and I feel okay now.”

“Are you sure? You can sit this one out,” Jason fussed, “me and Percy have it covered.”

“The doctor said it’s okay for me to train, and I’m not a child, Jason, I’ll be fine.”

“We have different definitions of child, but okay,” Jason muttered, “the kids want to see an all-out fight, you and Percy.”

“I’d be happy to demonstrate,” Nico smiled. 

“Are you sure-”

“I’m not going to swoon or wet my panties like an overexcited schoolgirl, Grace,” Nico hissed, “I can handle a fight with an overgrown tuna without throwing myself at him or dropping to my knees!”

“I wasn’t implying that,” Jason protested, “I was asking if you were sure you felt well enough to fight, we both know you’re more than capable of turning Percy into fishbait.”

“Whatever, Grace,” Nico snapped, embarrassed by his outburst. He quickly grabbed his armour from the shadows and pulled it on, grabbing his sword and adjusting his grip. 

“Why are you always so eager to turn me into Sushi,” Percy huffed, uncapping Riptide.

“Because you’d finally shut your stupid mouth,” Nico replied, swinging his sword violently at Percy’s face. Percy cursed, quickly ducking backwards. Nico didn’t give Percy chance to recover, shadow travelling behind him and pulling him back by his hair before he could regain his balance and holding the tip of his sword firmly against Percy’s carotid.

“I wasn’t ready!” Percy protested, but Nico just chuckled.

“Yes, because the bad guys will always wait until you say ‘go’, won’t they? Lesson for you, kids, your opponents in the real world won’t wait until you’re ready and won’t stop when their sword is at your throat. The glory of a quest is not worth your life, remember that. Now Percy here,” Nico explained, pressing his sword a little harder against Percy’s throat, “is somewhat of a legend amongst demigods. He declined godhood, you know. And right now, I could have killed him. I could have slipped or miscalculated. Or I could press my blade just a fraction harder. This is the man who brought down Kronos, and his life is now in my hands, because he wasn’t ready for a simple attack. But this is sparring. Make your mistakes in the arena because you can’t make those mistakes against the monsters and the bad guys.”

“Are you done teaching your lesson yet?” Percy piped up, and Nico rolled his eyes, removing his blade from his throat and shoving him forwards.

“Next time don’t be such a boring opponent, Jackson,” Nico chided, sauntering out of the arena.

“You fight dirty, di Angelo!”

Nico chuckled as he walked off, looking over his shoulder. “I never said I’d fight fair.” He spent the rest of his day summoning skeletons in the forest to fight, because the dead didn’t talk back.


End file.
